UN DRUGS WARNING FOR ASIA

The United Nations has warned of an explosion in the drug trade in
Southeast Asia now that Afghanistan's borders are closed. Officials say the
border closure has effectively put an end to Afghanistan's status as the
world's leading supplier of opium. The Reuters news agency quoted an
official as saying the 'Golden Triangle' of Burma, Thailand and Laos will
now monopolise the Asian drugs trade. The warning was delivered in the
Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh, by Sandro Calvani, regional representative
of the UN Drug Control and Crime Prevention office.

Borders closed "The borders are completely closed in Afghanistan so you
can't do any business, legal or illegal," Reuters quoted Calvani as saying.
"The Golden Triangle... is now moving all the drugs of Asia because
Afghanistan is out of business for illicit drugs," he said. Afghanistan's
ruling Taleban were demanding Western recognition of the effectiveness of a
ban last year on opium poppy cultivation, deemed to be contrary to Islam.

But vast stocks of the drug continued to pour across its borders until the
latest crisis erupted following the suicide attacks two weeks in New York
and Washington.

Market testing Mr Calvani warned that drug traffickers had been "market
testing" new smuggling routes through Cambodia to take advantage of the
latest developments.

Authorities in the region have waged war for decades on the massive
narcotics trade that flows across the Golden Triangle's porous borders.

Earlier this year, Thailand launched a military campaign aimed at closing
down the trade along its border with Burma.

But Cambodia's underfunded law enforcement agencies and shaky legal system
have struggled to keep up with the traffickers.